Pecorino Cheese Soufflé with Truffled Honey

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Makes 8

Ingredients

  • 3 whole eggs

  • 125gm grated matured pecorino

  • 3 tbls spoons of truffled honey

  • 250 ml whipping cream

  • sea salt

 Method

Place the eggs and cream into a bowl and mix with a whisk till combined well.  Season with the salt and fold in the grated cheese.

Portion the mixture into 8 soufflé dishes and place in a bain-marie filled with water and back for 15 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees.

Serve immediately once it is cooked and drizzle the honey over the top and serve with crostini on the side.

Truffle hunting in Umbria

/ Tartufi Bianconi/

Mad About Tuscany is in its 3rd year now, and some of our original guests from the 2012 tours have already returned. Other guests have expressed interest in booking for next year. So I have been out researching wonderful new experiences to add to the itinerary for future and returning guests.

We had a great day truffle hunting with friends Gabriella and Saverio at their Bianconi truffle farm in Umbria. We met in the plantation in a small group of 6 and went searching for the "black gold" with 2 highly trained dogs and 3 masters. We were extremely successful finding just under 500gm of black truffle and was lucky enough to dig out the biggest, thanks to the sensitive noses of the truffle dogs, trained to find the earthy truffle scent.

Next we explored a medieval village and its underground city, with an aperitivo in the piazza.  We returned to Bianconi to join Gabriella's tour of the factory where all the truffles are prepared for sale or made into one of the many wonderful truffle products. The range of products was fantastic, from the classic truffle butters and salsas to dried pastas, biscuits and dressings. Gabriella gave us a cooking demonstration and allowed us to taste various beautiful truffle infused products - delicious!

We sat down to a banquet dinner, where everything was made with truffle, even the dessert!

Great day out enjoying the company of wonderful hosts Gabriella and Saverio, great food, scenery and very informative too.

Since getting home I have made a soufflé with grated truffle on top, here is the recipe, enjoy!

Welcome to Tuscany

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Tuscany is undoubtedly regarded as the tourist mecca of Italy. Known as Bella Toscana, it is located in the centre of Italy, just 220km north of Rome.

Boasting Florence as its capital city, it is renowned for its arts, museums, culture and beauty.

The area that we love and know so well is the famous hillside town of Cortona along with the surrounding Val d'orcia region. Cortona is a small medieval hill town lying between Lago Trasimeno and the Appennino mountains.

Combining all the advantages of a small city rich in history and archaeological wonders dating back to the Etruscan, Roman and Renaissance eras, it still retains the best of traditional rural Tuscan life.

It is also a fantastic location for discovering the hidden gems of Tuscany and Umbria. With an endless list of small towns, all achievable as day trips through the picture postcard rolling hills of Tuscany, you will feel you have discovered the real Tuscany you came to see and enjoy.